Many business experts and analysts may be greeting Facebook's second quarter results with mixed responses ranging from speculative to disappointed as the company's stock continue to drop. But, the overall numbers provided by Facebook prove that for small business internet marketing, advertising on Facebook not only introduces the company to an unprecedented audience, but also a nearly guaranteed return on investment (ROI).
According to Facebook's report, there 955 million active users as of June 30, 2012, which is an increase of 29 percent year-over-year. Daily active users increased 32 percent to 552 million users and mobile monthly average users were about 543 million, marking the highest increase at 67 percent.
In addition, the release informs that 84 percent of the social network's revenue came from advertising, resulting in $992 million. This was also a 28 percent increase from the same quarter last year.
The company's reliance on advertising may mark why it is expanding its ability to fold in sponsored stories to users' news feeds and allowing advertisers to buy sponsored stories targeting the coveted mobile market.
"Our goal is to help every person stay connected and every product they use to be a great social experience," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and CEO. "That's why we're focused on investing our priorities of mobile, platform and social ads to help people have these experiences with their friends."
Also, Facebook's data shows that 70 percent of ad campaigns resulted in a ROI of three times or better with a little less than half showing an ROI of five times or higher than what was spent on advertisements.
If companies find themselves overwhelmed by what the Facebook offers for advertising opportunities, it may be best for them to partner with an online advertising agency for assistance.